Editor’s Corner: Sign your name please

Ladies and gentlemen, we at the newspaper love to hear from you. This is your community paper and we are here to serve. The only way we can cover the popular events or report on the important issues is if you let us know.

However, I need to take a moment this week to maybe set the record straight. Anonymous tips are awesome. I will soak them up like a sponge and do my best to investigate the issue until the truth is unraveled.

At the same time, if you would like a letter to the editor published in the paper, you have to sign your name and bring it into the office and show your identification to our staff. I know this may seem a little bit extreme, but these are the days we live in.

The newspaper is committed to printing the truth and we have to protect that integrity. With that said, the U.S. Constitution which I hold true to my heart, guarantees us the Freedom of Speech. So, if you have an opinion on an issue, please write me a letter. I would love to hear from you! Don’t be afraid to sign your name. Standing up for what is right is a very admirable characteristic and, in the long run, will make for a more productive and progressive community.

The great journalist Bob Woodard once said, “The great dreaded thing every reporter lives with is what you don't know. The source you didn't go to. The phone call you didn't return."

I live and breathe the newspaper business. It is my source of energy, my inspiration for exploring life, and it gives me the courage to be myself. Why? Because it is based on truth, honesty and “Freedom of Speech.”

Some weeks, the community loves me and other weeks, they hate me. It just depends on what’s in the news that week. This is a reality of my life that I have learned to live with over the past 45 years. And, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I truly believe a newspaper protects a free society and unless you have newspaper editors who are not afraid to tell the truth, we all lose a bit of our freedom as Americans.

This is true for every single citizen. You have the God-given, U.S. Constitutional right, to your opinion.

Let it be known!

Sandra Brand is the editor of the NEA Town Courier and The Osceola Times. She may be reached by phone at 870-563-2615 or by email at brand@osceolatimes.com.